New Haven Fire Department Chief John A. Alston Jr. responded to Ground Zero in Manhattan after the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001, while working as a Jersey City firefighter. Alston spoke at a news conference at the West Haven Fire Department on Monday July 15, 2019 advocating for more funding for the Sept. 11 Victim Compensation Fund.

New Haven Fire Department Chief John A. Alston Jr. responded to Ground Zero in Manhattan after the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001, while working as a Jersey City firefighter. Alston spoke at a news

New Haven Fire Department Chief John A. Alston Jr. responded to Ground Zero in Manhattan after the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001, while working as a Jersey City firefighter. Alston spoke at a news conference at the West Haven Fire Department on Monday July 15, 2019 advocating for more funding for the Sept. 11 Victim Compensation Fund.

New Haven Fire Department Chief John A. Alston Jr. responded to Ground Zero in Manhattan after the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001, while working as a Jersey City firefighter. Alston spoke at a news

WEST HAVEN — When two hijacked planes crashed into the twin towers, Jersey City firefighter John A. Alston Jr. rushed to the wreckage that would soon be known as Ground Zero.

On that fateful day, 18 years ago, Alston was assigned to a rescue company. Like thousands of first responders, he voluntarily returned again and again to the tragic scene of steel and ash to sift through the debris.

Now chief of the New Haven Fire Department, Alston is one of at least 812 Connecticut residents registered with the Sept. 11 Victim Compensation Fund, an account created by the federal government that awards money to individuals or their families who died, were injured or sickened from the terrorist attack and its aftermath.

Alston is registered with the fund, so he can claim assistance in the future if he falls ill, like so many aging first responders who have been diagnosed with cancer and other diseases linked to their exposure to toxins on “the pile” at Ground Zero. But Alston’s ability to get funding — and the amount he might receive — is likely to be determined by legislation now awaiting a vote by the U.S. Senate.

On Friday, in a bipartisan vote, the U.S. House of Representatives overwhelmingly passed legislation to add billions of dollars to the dwindling compensation fund and extend the program, which was scheduled to stop taking claims in December 2020, for seven decades.

“This vital fund honors the brave men and women who came to our rescue on one of our darkest days,” said U.S. Rep. Jahana Hayes, a cosponsor of the bill, on Friday. “These heroes need our help right now.”

The Republican-led U.S. Senate has not yet scheduled a vote on the legislation, U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal said Monday. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Kentucky, said Friday his chamber would “consider this important legislation soon.”

At a news conference at the West Haven Fire Station, Blumenthal said, despite McConnell’s comment, votes on such legislation sometimes had a way of “disappearing,” especially with an August recess of Congress nearing.

“It is really about simple justice for first responders who answered the call,” said Blumenthal.

Standing with Blumenthal, Alston recalled Sept. 11 as a day on which he lost many friends. But now, “seen and unseen injuries,” are killing more of them, he said.

“For us to have to continue to ask for support for people who responded on that day just defies reason to me,” he said.

John Dye, a New Haven resident, described the plight of his son Michael Dye, a New York City police officer in 2001, now suffering from brain cancer connected to his exposure at Ground Zero.

“He’s still under treatment and he is just getting his speech back,” said John Dye, an NYPD baseball cap shading his eyes as he stood with the help of a walker. “I can’t afford to pay for it.”

Dye has applied for assistance from the Victim Compensation Fund, like nearly 40,000 other Americans.

The original Victim Compensation Fund operated from 2001 to 2004 to give recompense to individuals, or their representatives, who died or suffered physical harm from the Sept. 11 attacks on the World Trade Center in Manhattan, the Pentagon in Arlington County, Virginia and the plane crash near Shanksville, Pennsylvania. The fund compensated the families of over 2,880 people who died and 2,680 individuals who were injured.

The fund was reactivated in 2011 for a period of five years, and was again reauthorized in 2015, giving victims until the end of 2020 to submit claims. The $7.3 billion fund has paid about $5 billion to nearly 21,000 claimants.

But the fund is running out of money with more than 19,000 people awaiting claims they have already filed.

Rupa Bhattacharyya, the special master overseeing the funds, testified before Congress in June that the number of claims to the fund has been accelerating with roughly 20,000 claim forms filed from 2016 to 2018, roughly the same number filed in the five years from 2011 to 2016. There was a marked increase in deceased claims, filed by family members, and cancer claims, both of which tend to receive higher monetary awards.

As a result of dwindling funds and increasing claims, Bhattacharyya announced that pending claims filed before Feb. 1, 2019 would see their calculated award cut in half and later claims would see their awards reduced by 70 percent. Comedian Jon Stewart, joined Sept. 11 first responders, to advocate for more funding before Congress in June.

The new legislation, awaiting Senate approval, would fund all future claims and allow more time to file. The Congressional Budget Office predicts the continuation of the program would cost $10.2 billion in the first decade of seven.

Connecticut had the sixth highest number of residents registered with the Victim Compensation Fund of all states, according to the fund’s 2019 annual report. As of Dec. 31, 2018, 812 Connecticut residents had registered with the fund, an uptick of 178 from the year prior.

Connecticut’s registration number likely does not include every from Connecticut who worked at the World Trade Center or responded to the scene in 2001. The number does not include former Connecticut residents who have since moved to other states — like Florida, which has 4,049 registrations — and filed.

Claims have been submitted to the fund, as of December, by 322 Connecticut residents; 136 of those people have received award determinations.

“That number is more or less consistent with the national average,” said Blumenthal. “Of the total number of applications, roughly half have received compensation... which is why this [new] funding is so important.”

West Haven Fire Department Chief James P. O’Brien said about 20 of his firefighters responded to Ground Zero on the Sept. 11 and the weeks following. Many are now seeking health care through the World Trade Center Health Program. They are registered with the fund, but have not yet filed claims, O’Brien said. Some are being treated but using their own insurance.

“Many are receiving treatment as we speak. Many of the stories you hear nationwide are of people not being able to afford their medicines and can’t pay their mortgages or work. Those are the ones that are really going to benefit from this fund,” said O’Brien. “So far our members haven’t hit that level of being treated; most are covered by insurance and so on. But if at some point in time, it’s too expensive... hopefully this fund will be here to support them in their time in need.”